Preface
Li Baotian, this name may not be familiar to young people nowadays, but it is a well-known "living drama treasure" in the theater industry. From a 14-year-old poor boy to a grandmaster in the theater world, from being abandoned by his father to his son's absence from the wedding, Li Baotian has written an inspirational and cruel artistic legend in his life.
From not learning to being crazy about playing
Li Baotian was born in 1946 and has six siblings in his family, and his father is a soldier. When he was a child, he was carefree, mischievous everywhere, and he was really lacking interest in learning. When he was 14 years old, Li Baotian was expelled for causing an accident at school, and his family was angry and decided to "send" him to a theater troupe as a small worker.
"At that time, I didn't understand anything, I was stupid and greedy, and I had the word mischief left in my mind except eating and sleeping." Li Baotian recalled that if he hadn't been kicked out of his home, he might not have been able to make a name for himself in his life. The life of the troupe is extremely difficult, in addition to building a shed and moving, he also has to be responsible for the set props, and the hardest thing is to line up from early morning to midnight every day, just to learn the "Harlequin" line.
"I practice hard, and I often can only fall asleep with cold water like a homeless man." Li Baotian said that he was timid and shy since he was a child, and he was often scolded by his master for "bad acting skills" when he acted. But it was in that environment that he slowly precipitated his fanatical love and persistence for acting.
In 1978, Li Baotian was admitted to the Central Academy of Drama with high scores, and since then he has officially embarked on the road of drama. After graduation, he was treasured by the school and taught at the school for many years, which also laid the foundation for becoming the "godfather of film and television" in the future.
In 1983, 34-year-old Li Baotian began to play roles in film and television works, and his outstanding acting skills left a deep impression on Zhang Yimou, who was still a young director at the time. Zhang Yimou said: "At first, I was skeptical about whether Li Baotian's age was suitable, but I was soon impressed by his acting skills."
Since then, the two have maintained long-term cooperation in many film and television dramas such as "Ju Dou", "Shake, Shake, Shake to Grandma's Bridge". Li Baotian is affectionately called "Mou Boy" by Zhang Yimou, and he goes hand in hand with the "Mou Girl" to jointly escort the film and television masterpieces of this top master.
The praise of Li Baotian by fellow directors is also extremely respectful: "He is a huge asset in the film and television industry", "No one can shape the role equally"...... Soon, he became famous in the film and television industry and was regarded as a "living treasure" in the history of Chinese theater.
The pursuit of roles is demanding, insisting on concepts, and gradually sparse from peers
But just when his career was a little successful, Li Baotian's personality had some "changes". During the filming of the classic drama "Prime Minister Liu Luoguo", due to differences in understanding of the role, he gradually distanced himself from Zhang Guoli and Wang Gang, and the contradiction was insoluble. Since then, Li Baotian has never wanted to work with the two again.
The reason is that Li Baotian has extremely strict requirements for the shaping of the role. In order to understand the inner world of a character, he often has to collect extensive information on scripts, props and other aspects, and strive to have both form and spirit. As long as he finds a flaw, he will not let it go easily.
"If people have different understandings of the characters, there will be disagreements, and disagreements will inevitably intensify the contradictions." Li Baotian said that although he is often criticized for being "too stubborn" and "too wide-minded", he knows that art should be studied and persisted in this way. Otherwise, how can you make a good show?
More importantly, Li Baotian is also highly persistent in his professional ethics in life. He would rather give up a considerable income than accept any advertising endorsements. Because he believes that it is tantamount to "deceiving the audience". Moreover, in order to ensure the professionalism of the crew, Li Baotian is also 100% strict with his son Li Yu and never soft.
This kind of high standards and high requirements make Li Baotian often criticized by "drama idiots" and "drama maniacs" in the industry, but it is precisely because of this that he has become an "idol mentor" in the minds of a generation.
However, Li Baotian's ideas still "surpassed" the public to some extent. In 2004, he sued the crew of a TV series for increasing the number of episodes without his consent.
Obviously, Li Baotian believes that this affects the artistic integrity of the play. Although he later won the lawsuit, he was also criticized and "blocked" by the industry. For a long time, he had no scenes to film.
"I knew I was going to be treated like this." Li Baotian said that it is true that for a long time, he felt the hostility of the industry towards him. Some people say that he is a "drama bully", moody, complacent, and has no market awareness at all.
However, in fact, Li Baotian is not completely unreasonable. It's just that he has a bottom line in his heart, and once he touches this bottom line, he will never compromise and back down, even if he will be misunderstood and criticized because of this.
"The professional ethics of the actors and the rights and interests of the audience, these are all the determinations I made when I first entered the industry." Li Baotian said that the reason why he is so persistent is that he hopes to defend the dignity of the performance industry with his life and not be eaten up by the wave of commercialization.
People are not old, and they are finally affirmed and respected
Fortunately, Li Baotian finally waited for the day when he was faced up to and affirmed. In 2021, at the age of 71, he won the "Golden Eagle Award for Lifetime Achievement", which is undoubtedly the highest recognition of his outstanding achievements in life.
"For a long time, I felt like I had failed the audience's expectations." Li Baotian said that although he has maintained a prodigal son's flamboyance and uninhibited all year round, he will always have a pious and persistent heart for his acting career.
Everyone's pursuit of art is different, and Li Baotian has also been criticized and misunderstood because of his "idealism". But in any case, this old actor finally used his hard and brilliant life to win the affirmation and respect of others.
From film and television to the stage, from mentor to grandmaster, Li Baotian is like a jewel that has been forgotten and rediscovered, shining and lasting for a long time. When the national audience sees him, they can't help but show a heartfelt smile and admiration.
There are many regrets in marriage and family, but they turn contradictions into motivation
However, Li Baotian's life legend is not completely carefree after sweeping away many obstacles all the way. Regret is often behind happiness, always holding him back. One of the biggest pains was the break with his father. After running away from home at the age of 14, Li Baotian and his father never met again, until the old man died, which made Li Baotian feel extremely remorseful.
"I did something drastic during the rebellious period, and I didn't expect it to have such consequences." Li Baotian said that his family sent him to the troupe out of desperation. When he really grew up, he could no longer reconcile with his father.
Another thing he regrets is his relationship with his son Li Yu. As an extremely strict father, Li Baotian never disciplined his son softly. The most serious one turned out to be an absence from his son's wedding.
"That's because there is an important play that has to be filmed first, and there is really no other choice." Li Yu said that although he was very angry with his father at the time, he was relieved later. After all, my father dedicated his life's work to the stage, and he had to make all kinds of difficult choices for this.
Therefore, although Li Baotian has many regrets in his life, he always regards these contradictions as the driving force for progress. Even if he suffered losses in his family, on the road of his career, he insisted on carrying out his ideals and beliefs to the end.